SPORTS & RECREATION

CU's first-ever first-team All-American, the 5-6 senior guard from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, led her team to a phenomenal 30-3 record last year before that heartbreaking loss to Georgia in the NCAA tournament. Coach Ceal Barry will be hard-pressed to replace Sheetz in the 1995-1996 lineup, and the visions of a Final Four appearance that have long been dancing in the heads of Buffs fans may have to wait a season or three. But sociology major Sheetz's own hoop dreams aren't over: She plans to play pro ball in Europe, where women who can hit the trey rake in big bucks just like the guys.

Best Swan Song
Denver Grizzlies
Bear with us. Let's put that National Hockey League fever, appropriate as it may be, aside for a moment to honor the Denver Grizzlies. The International Hockey League expansion pucksters went the distance in their first season, providing fans with stellar play on the ice by capturing the IHL's Turner Cup championship. Their habit of drawing big crowds to McNichols Arena may have paved the way for NHL expansion; too bad they'll have to hit the road.

Best Intercollegiate Skiers
Bryan Sax and Scott Wither
The University of Colorado ski team won its 14th NCAA title (and first since 1991) in New Hampshire in March, led by giant slalom winner Sax, a senior from Aspen, and slalom champion Wither, a freshman from Steamboat Springs. The trick now for CU: keeping the U.S. Ski Team from luring Wither away.

Best Distance Runner
Adam Goucher
The CU freshman from Colorado Springs led his school to a second-place finish--its best ever--last fall in the NCAA cross-country championships at Fayetteville, Arkansas. The nineteen-year-old Goucher, who finished second overall in the big race, also holds three Big Eight distance-running titles in indoor and outdoor events.

Best DU Hockey Player
Sinuhe Wallinheimo
Back home in Vantaa, Finland, this 21-year-old senior-to-be is the lead singer in a rock band. On the ice at the DU Arena he's also quite an entertainer, a flamboyant, aggressive goalie who plays to the fans when he makes a great save and works up the student section with abandon. Last season, the Pioneers were mediocre, 25-15-2, but Wallinheimo was the super-tough Western Collegiate Hockey Association's top stopper with a .906 saves percentage--which, for some reason, earned him only second-team WCHA all-star honors. At 6-2 and 187 pounds, he has beef to go with his speed, and DU coach George Gwozdecky trusts number 33 will plug the nets even more effectively in his final collegiate season.

Best Pro Sports Executive
Bob Gebhard
Strike, shmike. When the smoke started to clear this April, the general manager they call Gebby again opened his eagle eyes and the Colorado Rockies' corporate wallet and landed two of major-league baseball's premier free agents--Montreal slugger Larry Walker (.322, nineteen home runs in 1994) and San Francisco righty starter Bill Swift, who was just 8-7 with a 3.38 ERA last year but led his club with a 21-8 record and a 2.82 ERA in 1993. In the team's short history, Gebhard has worked tirelessly to build a pennant contender (which the Rockies now are): His choice of Don Baylor as the club's manager was superb, and his selections of guys named Bichette, Galarraga and Weiss have proven canny beyond expectation.

Best Rockie
Larry Walker
The most coveted player in this spring's wild free-agent sweepstakes came to the Rockies from the talent-rich Montreal Expos, where he hit .322 with nineteen home runs last season. Colorado paid a small fortune ($3 million plus per season) for the 6-3, 215-pound right-fielder, but his rifle arm and awesome left-handed power are a perfect match for Coors Field. The addition of Walker to a lineup already featuring sluggers Dante Bichette and Andres Galarraga gives the club one of the most fearsome batting orders in the National League. Forget Walker's May batting slump: This guy can hit bombs, and his experience will no doubt be invaluable in the clubhouse.

Readers' choice: Dante Bichette

Best Mock Rockie
Webster Garrison
Major-league baseball's replacement players were themselves replaced by the real thing before Opening Day. But Garrison, a speedy utility infielder/outfielder from Marrero, Louisiana, made quite a name for himself in spring training before being shipped to the Rox's Colorado Springs farm club. He hit .377 in 22 Cactus League games, scored sixteen runs and batted in sixteen more. In the Rockies' exhibition games against the Yankees at Coors Field, he also thrilled the crowds with half a dozen sparkling defensive plays. He's 29, but look for him on the big club before his career ends.

Best Rockies Prospect
Doug Million
The club's number-one draft choice in 1994, this 6-4 lefty flamethrower out of Sarasota, Florida, by way of Fort Thomas, Kentucky, has simply mowed 'em down in the low minors: At Chandler (rookie league) last year he pitched twelve innings and struck out nineteen; at Bend (Class A), he was 5-3 with a 2.34 earned run average and struck out 75 batters in just under 58 innings. This season, his shoulder has bothered him a bit in starts for the Rox's newest farm club, the Salem (Massachusetts) Avalanche (Class A), but at age twenty, this future Million-aire has plenty of time to heal--and perhaps heal some of the parent club's pitching woes.

Best Nugget
Dikembe Mutombo Mpolando Mukamba Jean Jacques Wamatumbo
For the second straight season, the 7-2 center from Kinshasa, Zaire, led the league in blocked shots (321) and finished second in rebounds (12.5 per game). In a down year for the Nuggets, Mount Mutombo scored just 11.5 points per game, but he was finally named the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year. That, perhaps, moved him from the shadows of those other Georgetown centers--Patrick Ewing of the Knicks and Alonzo Mourning of the Hornets. At age 28, the most popular Nugget presumably has many more seasons--and McDonald's commercials--before him.

Readers' choice: Dikembe Mutombo

Best Nuggets Coach
Bernie Bickerstaff
Who else? Dan Issel's shocking retirement--the product of frazzled nerves and team dissension--came on January 15, when the Nuggs were 18-16. Interim replacement Gene Littles got very little fight out of the disheartened troops, who went 3-13 in the 35 days of his tenure. It took Bickerstaff--already respected as the team's president, general manager and architect--to crack the whip over a group of young players who had lost their focus. Thanks to the former Seattle coach's tutelage, the Nuggets finished the year 41-41 (20-12 under Bickerstaff) before getting swept in the playoffs by powerful San Antonio. Come fall, the sweetest sight for Bernie's sore eyes could be the return of injured forward LaPhonso Ellis.

Best Local Sports Team
The Ex-Nordiques
That's right. The recently transplanted Whatevers (nee Nordiques) haven't played a minute on Mile High ice. But the outstanding young club had the second-best record in the NHL last year, and it features such standouts as tough right-winger Owen Nolan, who led the club with thirty goals, reliable Joe Sakic (nineteen goals and 43 assists), winger Wendel Clark and the young Swedish star Peter Forsberg. Can you say "Stanley Cup contender"? It'll happen here sooner than the Rockies get to the World Series or the Nuggets reach an NBA final.

Readers' choice: Rockies

Best Ex-Nordique
Peter Forsberg
Much of the credit for the Quebec Nordiques' 30-13-5 record last year went to Forsberg, the hero of Sweden's winning effort at the Lillehammer Olympics, then the NHL's Rookie of the Year. The 21-year-old center stands 5-11, weighs 190 and skates like the wind. The $2,825,000 salary he earned last season marks him as a franchise player--no matter what team name is on his jersey.

Best Bronco
John Elway
Yes, still. Look what happened last season, when Wade Phillips's defense decided to rest. In late-game situations against San Diego, the New York Jets, Kansas City and some other clubs whose names no one wants mentioned here, the burden fell--as it so often does--on Number Seven. And that's where it's bound to fall in 1995. This time around, though, neither Dan Reeves nor the ineffectual Phillips will be standing on the sidelines. The Man will be Mike Shanahan, Biff's old confidant, pal and inspiration. And if that doesn't breathe new life into the twilight of a richly talented but suddenly aging quarterback, nothing will. Look for a banner Elway year or two before the curtain falls.

Readers' choice: John Elway

Best Weight Room
Rude Recreation Center
2855 W. Holden Pl.

If you want the amenities that are only incidental to a good workout--rough white towels, blow-dryers and a trendy juice bar where you share sweat stories with the Lycra crowd--head to some high-falutin' health club. If you want a good solid workout with plenty of iron, stop by the City of Denver's Rude Recreation Center on the northwest side. Thanks to charitable donations from internationally known guru Ram Dass (really), Rude is crammed with so much muscle-swelling equipment that moving from one station to another feels like you're picking your way through Arnold Schwarzenegger's attic. It's cheap ($25 a year) and seldom crowded. Bring your own towel.

Best Indoor Pool
Golden Recreation Center
1470 10th St., Golden

The new facility at the Golden Recreation Center offers something for everyone. There's a large lap pool with diving boards in the deep end, and there's a large children's pool complete with two slides--one large and one for toddlers. And there are sprinklers, lots of shallow areas for the little ones and a spa for adults only. Plus plenty of sunlight through a southside window exposure and additional sunning areas outside. You won't take a bath getting in, either: admission is $3 for adults, $2 for ages six to eighteen and $1 for children under six.

Best Place to Watch Trains
Coors Field
Amtrak's California Zephyr runs directly behind the outfield fence at the ballpark, and the daily eastbound train, complete with the mournful diesel air horn that announces its arrival, is scheduled into Union Station right about the fifth inning of most night games. From the left-field stands, train nerds can feast on more high-iron activity, including good views of the consolidated main line that funnels the freight of three Class 1 railroads through the Central Platte Valley, as well as frequent glimpses of transfer moves between the Burlington Northern and Southern Pacific yards. A dog, a beer, the Giants in town and a trio of Santa Fe C44-9Ws tricked out in the warbonnet paint scheme--now, that's livin'!

Best Place to Watch Trains From a Train
RTD Light Rail
South Broadway Line

The highlight of light-rail's dash to and from the Gates Rubber plantation comes when the cars glide past the lead tracks of the Southern Pacific's venerable Burnham Shops, bustling with activity now that Phil Anschutz has turned the old Denver & Rio Grande Western facility into a maintenance hub for his SP. There's railroad action galore here, from glistening new road engines to the ghost locomotives of the past, once-mighty beasts now destined to sit forlornly with their paint peeling and their mechanical guts ripped out. You'll also find strings of cabooses, diesel switchers from the 1950s, old-fashioned box cars and plenty of graffiti from the Inca Boyz to give the place that lived-in look.

Best Tracks in the Snow
Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad
Even if your favorite winter sport involves sitting on your duff and watching icicles grow, that's no reason not to spend time in the high country when it's buried under tons of snow. While everyone else is sliding down mountains at breakneck speeds, you can have the thrill of your life riding the famous narrow-gauge railroad, a cliffhanger that cuts its way through the San Juans from Durango to Silverton via spectacular Cascade Canyon. The railroad now runs year-round, whenever it can.

Best Free Travel Programs
Tattered Cover LoDo
1628 16th St.

Armchair travelers can do it with company at the Tattered Cover's LoDo store. Recent programs--which included various combinations of live music, food, travel slides, dancing and (of course) discussions about travel books--have covered travel to Mexico, Scandinavia and England. The last affair featured a demonstration of traditional English tea services and a discussion by local brewpub mogul John Hickenlooper on "The English Pub as an Integral Part of the Culture." We'll drink to that.

Best Raptor Anticipation
Dinosaur Ridge Hawkwatch
An astonishing number of raptors soar through the Colorado foothills during spring migration: Among the species seen are majestic golden and bald eagles, peregrine falcons and northern goshawks, as well as American kestrels and Cooper's and sharp-shinned hawks. Annually, from early March until mid-May, the Colorado Bird Observatory and the Denver Museum of Natural History team up to identify and count the big birds at Dinosaur Ridge, one of only two such spring migration stations in the entire Southwest (the other is in New Mexico). And eagle-eyed volunteers are always welcome to come help out.

Best Raptor Love Machines
Barr Lake bald eagle pair
Barr Lake State Park
13401 Piccadilly Rd., Adams County

This pair of major-league love birds is said to be the most productive eagle couple in the state, parenting seventeen young 'uns since 1989. Nearby nighttime road construction, aided by the use of powerful floodlights, upset the baldies' inner clocks in 1993, and we hope the monster birds now flying into Denver International Airport won't perturb them too much. But so far, so good: The proud mama and papa are now raising this year's pair of hatchlings, who ought to be on the wing by now. If you swing by the lake, out north near Brighton, you might still be able to catch a glimpse of them through high-powered park scopes.

Best Place to See Pelicans
Colorado Pelican Festival
Greeley

Although this year's pelican fete was sadly rained out, the event every other spring is a welcome effort to draw attention to Colorado's White Pelican population that draws birders from all over the West. Of course, pelicans come to the prairie lakes whether people do or not, and they can be seen on private expeditions--but such expeditions aren't augmented by guided field trips, workshops, stargazing programs, general town festivities or the famous Walk-Like-a-Pelican Contest. You'd better start practicing now if you want to be ready for the next festival.

Best Place to See Lark Buntings
Pawnee Buttes
Weld County

Most of us have admittedly never seen the Colorado state bird--a tuneful little plainsman sporting distinctive and showy white wing patches on his black body (if he's a male). The streaked-brown females are a little harder to discern, but they share a repetitive chirp and two-note whistle as they fly across the prairie, cheerfully at home on the range. The twin Pawnee Buttes (they appear under a nom de plume in James Michener's Centennial) rise eerily from the endless flats of the adjacent Pawnee National Grassland and are worth a visit simply on the strength of their own timeless historical and visual merits. Go to the buttes (an hour east of Fort Collins) in the spring, especially a wet spring, if you want to see the short-grass prairie in all its splendor--still green, dotted with flowering prickly pears. Just don't forget to look up when you do: Raggle-taggle flocks of lark buntings are sure to make an appearance.

Best Urban Bird Sanctuary
Alley between Market and Blake streets, 1700 block
It truly was an urban jungle out there when the first pioneers moved into LoDo's Blake Street Bath & Tennis Club two decades ago. Missing the lush lawns she'd left behind, landscape specialist Diane Grant started throwing seeds and planting flora in back of her new home. As a result of her efforts, this stretch of alley today is a true pocket park, an oasis of greenery that serves as a sanctuary for all the rare birds who call downtown home.

Best Birding Experience for Kids
Keystone Science School, Keystone
We know most modern kids already know about the birds and the bees--but would they know a pine grosbeak if they saw one? On the Wing, a week-long summer ornithology camp at the Keystone Science School, gives kids between eleven and sixteen a peek into the secret lives of birds. Students learn to identify different avian species and the mountain biomes in which the birds live, keep journals noting daily observations of bird behavior, then wrap it all up with individual research projects culled from data entered into laptop computers. High-tech? Maybe, but you're never too young to do things the way the professionals do.

Best Birds Unleashed
The Raptor Education Foundation
21901 E. Hampden Ave., Aurora

What separates this organization from others dedicated to preserving wildlife is its focus on bringing information to schoolchildren. Since 1980, when the foundation got its start, REF representatives have presented a one-hour program about eagles, hawks, falcons, owls and other birds of prey to well over half a million students both here in Colorado and in states such as Ohio, New Mexico and Nevada. And these displays aren't boring affairs filled with faded slides. Instead, falcons and the like are the stars of a show that teaches kids about ecological diversity without the kids realizing how much they're learning.

Best Wildlife Sanctuary Disguised as a Golf Course
Castle Pines Golf Club, Castle Rock
There are more than golf balls flying at Castle Pines. The ritzy course's occupants include both diminutive winged creatures--hummers, larks, wrens and a proliferating bluebird population--and the bigger ones (golden eagles and wild turkeys). Red foxes, coyotes and deer also roam the links, hiding in surrounding areas wooded with ponderosa pine and scrub oak and brightened by native wildflowers. As proof that wild animals can peacefully co-exist with grown men in plaid pants, the club was recognized by both the Audubon Society and the United States Golf Association earlier this year. Watch that birdie!

Best Easy Walk on the Wild Side
Chatfield Arboretum
Deer Creek Canyon Rd., south of C-470 off Wadsworth Blvd.

An offshoot of the Denver Botanic Gardens, the Chatfield Arboretum offers excellent opportunities for viewing wildlife. Beavers, deer, coyotes and many birds, from sparrows to horned owls, roam its woods, ponds and wetlands. In summer, the focal point shifts to the facility's natural and planted green and flowering things, but nature tours, during which one might learn to track or identify woodland creatures, are offered throughout the year. Just stop by the bucolic visitor center, located in a rustic school building, where educational displays help get you in the mood.

Best Place to See an Alligator
Alligator Farm
North of Alamosa on Hwy. 17

With over eighty gators on display, this isn't the place to go if you believe in Jurassic Park's "chaos" theory. But for the strong at heart, the Alligator Farm is a fun place to get a close-up view of the scaly reptiles. Geothermal wells keep the water at 87 degrees, aiding in the production of alligators and fish. Besides the lizardy horde, there are paddleboats, peacocks and enough wildlife to delight the whole family.

Best Place to Check Out Foxes
Clear Creek Greenway
Donated to the public by Coors, the Clear Creek Greenway extends from Lowell Boulevard to the Platte River Bike Trail. But the best part is just across the river from Prospect Park in Wheat Ridge. That's where two foxes--one black and the other red--have made their home. Since regulars insist on feeding them dog food, they aren't going anywhere soon.

Best Ice Escapades
Larimer Square Ice Rink
15th and Larimer streets

So it's not Rockefeller Center. It doesn't even come close to the old Zeckendorf Plaza rink. But the Larimer Square rink (actually a temporary rink set up for the holidays), with its cheap skate rentals, hot cider, pick-up hockey games and clinics for rubber-kneed kids, did light up the downtown nights last winter with rosy cheeks, good-natured spills and lots of seasonal spirit.

Best Fitness Deal
Denver Recreation Centers
Twenty-three metro locations

For $5, join up for a whole year. Another $20 gives you a year of access to the weight room; $30 allows you to use the pool. Take your pick, work out, shower and rejoice at your new body. The great news is, you pay once and can use any of the gyms in the city. Finally, an example of city government working well.

end of part 3